No More Pain
by RedTailedSongbird
Summary: An alternate ending that takes place directly after episod "Sin." Vash runs into another plant who has mysterious ties to Knives... (OC-OC, Knives-OC, M-W, V-M, V-OC) Rated for violence, language, and adult themes. Rating subject to change.
1. Scarred Hearts

Jewel: Presenting "No More Pain," the first story to the Trigun Trilogy!

Vash (Disclaimer): Trigun is not owned by the beautiful Jewel, but the new characters are!

Gene: Hey, she's my beautiful Jewel…

Vash: But she's in a V/J story…

Gene: Watch it buddy…

Jewel: *trying to break up fight* Anyway, here's the first part of the story!

Part 1

Scarred Hearts

~I killed him… I killed Legato~ Vash thought to himself. ~Why did I do it? Why did I go and pull the trigger? Why?~ His words were echoing in his head. He walked to the edge of the cliff and held the gun to his head. "Taking your life is just like taking someone else's." A voice called from behind him. He paused. "Besides, killing is unavoidable. If you swat a spider and squash it, you have killed a living being." The person took the gun from Vash. "But I don't deserve to live… I killed him…" Vash said without turning around. "But didn't you do it to save someone else's life?" the voice asked. Vash paused before nodding solemnly. "Then if you had not killed him, two other people would be dead and, though indirectly, you would have been the cause of their death," the voice said with no change of tone. Vash's eyes opened widely in realization and he turned around…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Just another dream…" Vash said to himself as he got out of bed. It was only yesterday that he had killed Legato. "I wish I wouldn't wake up right before I find out who the person is." Vash exited his small shack of a house and looked at the endless desert. "I don't think I'll ever find out who that person is." He packed up his few belongings and headed to December.

Vash hadn't seen Meryl or Millie since the incident. He was avoiding them at all costs. He let out a sigh, "Looks like I'm going to be traveling a while." At that moment he heard and oddly familiar voice call out from a couple yards behind him. "What part of 'No, leave me alone' do you not understand? Or maybe your just an ignorant bastard!" the voice yelled. 

Vash turned around in one swift movement. He noticed a girl talking to two thirty year old men. "Who do you think you are, little missy? No one calls me an ignorant bastard!" the black-haired one screamed. The brown-headed man pulled out a knife. The girl rolled her eyes before sharpening them. "Didn't your mothers teach you manners? Play fair, be nice, and the most important rule of all… Don't pick a fight with a girl." 

The young woman leaped into the air and kicked the guy with the knife, sending him back at least a dozen feet. The other man pulled out a revolver. "Heh, well two can play this game," the girl said. Vash watched in amazement as the girl's left arm transformed into a gun. The black-haired guy dropped his mouth, along with his revolver. "You… You ain't human!" He ran off as quick as his legs would carry him to the ruins of Augusta. The girl smiled in triumph and Vash let out an applause. She turned around. 

She was wearing a black spandex tank top and black shorts. She also had on a bright red vest, black boots with countless silver buckles, and a silver belt which held a revolver. Her hair was Goth black and extended to the ground, held back in a high ponytail. Her eyes were red. She looked about 20 and she had figure of a curvilinear stature. 

Vash blinked. "Uh… My name's Vash, what's yours?" He said as he took of his sunglasses.

The girl smiled, exposing her pearly white teeth. "My name is Jewel, but you didn't have to tell me your name, Mr. Vash the Stampede." 

"So, my reputation precedes me…" Vash beamed. 

"Of course it does, you're the Humanoid Typhoon, the 60 Billion Double-Dollar man. Your origin is unknown and you seem to have no age… your also a plant."

"How did you know all that?" Vash questioned, his impressiveness turning into skepticism. 

She looked away and gave a small sigh. "I know all this… because I am one." Vash blinked. 

"Well, I guess I should've known that after seeing your arm turn into a gun." 

Jewel nodded, "That's true." 

"Then… how come we've never met?" 

"Because I'm 10 years younger than you. I'm 120 years young." 

"And I'm 130."

The two began to laugh. ~I finally met a plant, better yet, a girl plant~ Vash thought silently. ~I hope that we can become good friends~

"Where are you headed?" Jewel asked in a simplistic manner. 

"December."   
"Do you mind if I travel with you?" she asked further. 

"Of course not. It'll be much happier around with you traveling with me." 

She beamed, "Why thank you."

The young pair set off towards December as the sun began to set. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"We have to find Vash, Millie! This is no time for a drink!" Meryl exclaimed as she watched her comrade guzzle up a whole mug of beer. "Aw, c'mon Meryl! Have yourselfs a couple o' glasses!" Millie replied between hiccups.

"Great, just great! We're supposed to be keeping an eye on Vash! How are we supposed to keep an eye on him if we can't even find him! Are you listening Millie?! Millie!" Meryl screamed. Her friend had fallen asleep at her desk. Meryl sighed. "I suppose that we can wait until tomorrow."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"One room, two beds. That will be $$50," the man behind the desk of the hotel answered. Vash handed the man the money and they started to their room. "So Jewel, I don't want to be nosy or anything, but if your 10 years younger than me, than how…" He was cut short by Jewel. 

"I am the first plant to be born to this planet, I was born in Augusta. I was kept as an underground, illegal experiment." 

"But the technology…" 

"I was born out of pure coincidences and mistakes. When I was created, the scientists had been working on building human clones with the use of more than just human material. They never intended for me to be a plant."

"Oh," Vash said in understanding. He stared at her and their faces grew closer and closer… until Jewel pulled away. "What's wrong?" Vash asked. Jewel smiled, "It's nothing, nothing at all." The two were silent the rest of the night as they each fell asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~I killed him… I killed Legato~ Vash thought to himself. ~Why did I do it? Why did I go and pull the trigger? Why?~ His words were echoing in his head. He walked to the edge of the cliff and held the gun to his head. "Taking your life is just like taking someone else's." A voice called from behind him. He paused. "Besides, killing is unavoidable. If you swat a spider and squash it, you have killed a living being." The person took the gun from Vash. "But I don't deserve to live… I killed him…" Vash said without turning around. "But didn't you do it to save someone else's life?" the voice asked. Vash paused before nodding solemnly. "Then if you had not killed him, two other people would be dead and, though indirectly, you would have been the cause of their death," the voice said with no change of tone. Vash's eyes opened widely in realization and he turned around… "Jewel?" he called out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Vash, wake up."

"Huh?" He opened his eyes. 

"There's trouble," Jewel stated simply, "let's go check it out."

He looked at her sleepily before answering, "Right."

Jewel and Vash arrived at the problem area just in time. "Look, here's Vash the Stampede, now please, please let us live!" a man called out. 

Vash and Jewel looked towards the strange visitor that the man was talking to. He had blonde hair… and that was all Jewel needed to see before realizing who he was…

"Kn…Knives…" Jewel whispered. "You know my brother?" Vash questioned.

"Know me? She knows me a lot better than you think, Vash," Knives answered in reply. Vash looked to Jewel, who was shaking her head, her expression of utmost horror.

"No… no… Not you. Not you, Knives. NO!" she yelled into the night. "Jewel, what's wrong?"

"Yes, Jewel. Tell my brother everything," Knives added. Jewel was now on her knees, clutching her head in her hands in pain.

"Knives, don't touch me! Stay away! Leave me be! Haven't you already ruined my life?!" Jewel screamed. "What the…?" Vash asked aloud. 

Knives took a step towards Jewel and she retreated. ~She's usually so brave and strong. What happened?~

"Come here, Jewel. I won't hurt you," Knives said with his malevolent grin, "I've already done that." Vash looked to Knives in suspicion, "What do you mean?"

Knives sighed in annoyance, "I mean that I've already hurt her." 

"What did you do to her?" Vash asked in a rage. Jewel looked up at him and mouthed the words, 'Please Vash, no…' Vash looked at her, confused, then nodded.

"Go ahead Jewel, chicken out. That's all you've ever done anyway. Don't you remember? When I asked you if…" Knives was silenced by Jewel's gun. She was crying as she held the gun to his head. Her tears were streaming down her face, but she made no effort to stop them. "Shut up or I'll shoot." Knives snickered.

"You can't pull that trigger and you know it. You could never hurt me Jewel… Because I'm your beloved Knives." The hand which was holding Jewel's gun was trembling now. Vash looked to Jewel in confusion, "Jewel, were you and Knives…" Jewel remained silent as she looked away from Vash. Knives faced Jewel with an eerie smile on his face. "Now Jewel, put the gun down and let's talk things through, shall we?"

"Since when have you ever talked things through sensibly?" Jewel asked. She was crying much harder now, but the gun was still tight in her hand as though it were a part of her body. "All you've ever done, Knives, is hurt people. You shoot first and ask questions later. You've never once talked sensibly and…" She was interrupted be Knives' slap to her face. 

"Shut up, you little bitch! Since when have you become my conscience?! What I do is none of your business!" He pushed her to the ground before stepping on her stomach. She winced.

"You have no right to talk about shooting first and asking questions later! You know perfectly well what I mean too, so don't act stupid!" Knives said, kicking her. Jewel sat on her knees. She used the back of her hand to wipe the blood coming from her mouth. Vash looked to her to offer his assistance, but Jewel shook her head.

"At least I've repented. All you ever do is kill… you never try to make things better," she said solemnly. She struggled to breathe, but as Knives had kicked her in the stomach, she fell to the floor, conscious, but exhausted.

"Out of energy already? Too bad, I was going to have a little fun with you," Knives said, pulling out his gun. "Since you're tired, you won't be able to fight back. How boring…" He held the gun to her neck. "Any last words?" She snickered, "Yeah, cut with the clichés."

She lifted herself from the ground, kicking Knives in the process. Jewel stood on her two legs for a moment, but then fell to the ground. Vash ran to her. "Let's get out of here," he said as he lifted her into his arms.

"I agree," she replied as she glanced back at Knives. 'No more pain…no more pain…' she thought to herself as she fell asleep in Vash's arms.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Bernardelli pair reached December as the sun began to rise. 

"Meryl, I'm exhausted. Why didn't we stay at the last town and get some sleep?" Millie asked her partner with a yawn. "We have to catch up with Vash and you know that he always goes wherever he goes quickly. We have no time to let him escape," Meryl answered matter-of-factly. "Then can't we at least get some sleep until lunch time? Vash probably won't take off unless he sees us anyway." Millie said, nearly falling to the ground from weariness.

Meryl sighed. "I guess…"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jewel awoke to the sight of red…

"Vash… why didn't you sleep on your bed?" she questioned as she realized it was Vash's coat. "Because when I tried to put you down, you wouldn't let go of me." Jewel blushed… "S-Sorry about that." 

"Don't worry about it," he replied with a grin. He got up from the bed and headed to the door. "I'm gonna' go pick up some breakfast. Do you want anything?" Jewel looked to the ceiling in thought, "Uh, some donuts would be nice." 

Vash's grin grew wider. "Sounds good to me." He left the room leaving Jewel staring after him. "He's nothing like him, he's absolutely nothing like Knives," she thought aloud. She smiled. "I wish I would've met him sooner." She fell asleep again, peaceful thoughts entering her head…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"How many donuts can I get for $$30?" Vash asked the clerk. "You can get two dozen," she answered, handing him a bag of donuts. Vash walked to the hotel with a smile on his face. "It's a beautiful day and to top it all off a beautiful girl and I will be eating donuts for breakfast," he said to himself as he headed up the stairs to his room. As he approached the door he heard a familiar song being sung on the other side….

__

So… Hitotsu-me no yoru ni

Izuko kara koishi ga sekai ni ochiru

Vash opened the door. He stared at Jewel. Her back was facing him, but Vash could tell that she was finally content and at peace. 

__

So… Futatsu-me no yoru ni

koishi no ko ga te wo tori warutsu wo kaku

Vash smiled as he walked to her. He put his arms around her, singing the song.

__

Sound Life

Jewel was startled by Vash's show of affection and she turned around and out of his embrace. They stared at each other for a moment before Jewel finally looked away.

"Jewel." She looked at him, "Yes."

"Why do you look away every time I do something like that?" he questioned, sounding hurt.

Jewel tried to look away again, but Vash put his hand to her face. "Jewel, look at me when you answer… please," Vash said seriously, adding 'please' as an after-thought. Jewel let out a sigh.

"Vash, I've… the thing is, well, I've been hurt before… and I don't want to get hurt again. Don't get me wrong, Vash, you're a great person. I do trust you… and I do care about you, but my heart won't accept any more pain… because if it does, it's liable to break again, leaving even more scars. I couldn't handle that, Vash," she said, wanting so hard to look away. 

Vash was silent, stunned is more like it. He never knew that this strong person, Jewel, could have such scars. 

He moved his hand away. "Jewel… I… I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked you. Especially since…" Jewel cut him short, "Don't worry about it," she replied with a grin. Then she added, "Now, how about some breakfast?" as an after-thought. 

He smiled as he held up he bag of donuts. She reached for it and he pulled it higher.

"No fair!" she called. She jumped up and grabbed the bag. She ran to the other side of the room. "There mine now," she laughed. She turned around right as Vash tackled her. 

She was pinned between Vash and the floor. Jewel and Vash blinked at each other a few times before someone entered the room.

"Hey Vash, Millie and I…" The young woman stopped talking as she eyed Vash and Jewel on the floor. The two turned to look at her. "Oh, you're, uh, busy. Well then, I'll be back later." Meryl closed the door as she left. Jewel looked up at Vash. "Uh, Vash. Do you mind getting off?" she asked. "And what if I say no?"

"Ha ha, very funny," she stated as she got up from under him, hitting him on the head in the process. He puppy pouted, "Hey, that hurt." He rubbed the enormous bump on his head.

"Let's eat breakfast, shall we?" she asked, changing the subject. "Donuts!" he yelled. 

"Hey Vash, who was that chic who came by just a moment ago?"

"Oh her? That was Meryl. She and her partner, Millie, are supposed to keep an eye on me. They work for Bernardelli Insurance."

"Oh, well that would certainly explain why they'd follow you." "Yup!"

The two talked a little while longer over breakfast, before heading into the town to look for any remaining signs of Knives. To their dismay, Knives had vanished, leaving no sign of himself, but his name in red upon a wall.

"This is not good. Knives probably left early this morning. Which means…" 

"That the only way of catching him is to first, find his trail, and second, to follow him. But since he left so early, the possibility of catching him is very, very slim," Jewel finished. Vash nodded, "Well, in that case. There's no point in leaving yet. Why don't we head back to the hotel and wait for Meryl. She's sure to stop by again," Vash said.

"Sounds good to me," Jewel replied. The two set off to the hotel.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What's wrong, Meryl?" Millie asked her partner. "Huh? Oh, it's nothing, nothing at all," Meryl answered with an obvious hint that it was something. "What happened when you met up with Vash today?" Millie questioned. "He was busy, so I didn't bother him."

"Oh…" 

'I wonder who she was…" Meryl asked herself, 'I wonder who she was…"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Jewel, there's something I've been meaning to ask you," Vash said as the two made it to their room. "What?"

"What was your relation to Knives?" he asked. Jewel halted for a moment at the door, silent. The two entered, but Jewel still remained mute. "Vash, I'd rather not…"

"What did he do to hurt you, Jewel?" Jewel sat on her bed, her head in her hands. "Vash, please don't make me tell you," she pleaded. Vash could see tears in her eyes and he stopped. He walked to her and hugged her, "I'm sorry, Jewel. I didn't mean to make you cry."

"I know, it's okay… I'll be fine…" And to Vash's surprise, she hugged him back.


	2. Eyes Like Knives

Part 2

Eyes like Knives

Jewel set out to December early in the morning. 'It's been one year… one whole year, since I finally left Knives… strange, it feels longer,' she thought to herself. Ever since that day, all she'd done was wander. She felt like a hopeless cause, and that's often what she called herself. A wandering soul and a hopeless cause, yes, that's exactly what she was. 

"I hope he stops coming after me. I'm tired of using this," she picked up her silver revolver. She gazed at it in her hand for quite a while. She often had to use her gun to keep Knives away from her, as he always came intending to finish what he started. 'I wish he would just leave me alone…' she thought to herself.

'Knives, a suitable name for a man such as he. Ruthless and cruel, with eyes that sever into you like daggers, eyes that were cold, lifeless, and icy, that was Knives. Eyes like knives… One glare from him and next thing you know, you're lying on the floor, dead from his gun. It was those eyes, that I, Jewel, had once longed for.' 

Jewel entered a new town and headed straight for a bar. When she was there, she sat at a table and pulled out her journal. 

_Dear Journal,_

I recall the day. Yes, I recall the day when I first met Knives. Back then I was a cold, ruthless killer. I didn't kill in an effort to try to kill the Human Race, but I still killed. That was how I met him… Knives. Actually, I had met him before that, but that was when you-know-who and I were dating… I must have a terrible taste in companions, for only one of them has ever been… well, sensible… but barely.

Knives, of course, was a ruthless killer. He showed no emotion, no respect, and no mercy… He was exactly like I used to be. I have never met a man like him, but now that I think about it… that would be a good thing. When I met him after my break-up with you-know-who, I yearned for him. I wanted to feel his kiss and stare into those eyes…

I must be psychotic…

How could I have ever loved him? How could I have ever loved a cold-hearted, mass murderer? Better yet, how could I have ever loved one of you-know-who's friends? Was it because he was just like me?

Yes, that was it… because he was just like me… a plant. That's right, I loved him because he was just like me, an inhuman creation… a plant…

Jewel's journal entry was cut short by two men taking seats at her table. She raised an eyebrow in annoyance and skepticism. "Can I help you?" she questioned.

The brown-headed man smiled at his black-haired buddy, then spoke. "Yeah baby, we were wondering if you could give us each here a good time…" He grinned again. 

Jewel stared in disgust at his yellow, rotting teeth before answering, "You can have a good time… with some other girl. I don't associate with filth." 'At least, not anymore,' her mind interjected.

__

She exited the bar, the two men following her in amusement. They even went far enough to follow her into the desert. 

"C'mon missy, I know you'd enjoy our company as much as we'd enjoy yours."

"No, leave me alone," she said with a stare of annoyance.

She began to walk through the desert again. Finally, through rage, she turned around. 

"What part of 'No, leave me alone' do you not understand? Or maybe your just an ignorant bastard!" she yelled. 

"Who do you think you are, little missy? No one calls me an ignorant bastard!" the black-haired man screamed. The brown-headed man pulled out a knife. Jewel rolled her eyes before sharpening them. "Didn't your mothers teach you manners? Play fair, be nice, and the most important rule of all… Don't pick a fight with a girl." 

She leaped into the air and kicked the guy with the knife, sending him back at least a dozen feet. The other man pulled out a revolver. "Heh, well two can play this game," the Jewel said with a grin. She transformed her left arm into a gun. The black-haired guy dropped his mouth, along with his revolver. "You… You ain't human!" He ran off as quick as his legs would carry him to the ruins of Augusta. She smiled in triumph as someone behind her let out an applause. She turned around. 

He was very tall, with long blonde hair that was spiked back. He had a beauty mark under his left eye, though it was hardly visible, due to his orange sunglasses… But the most noticeable thing about him was his large red coat. The one thing that told her who he was…

Vash blinked. "Uh… My name's Vash, what's yours?" He took of his sunglasses, revealing beautiful aqua eyes. 

Jewel gave him her whitest and best smile, "My name is Jewel, but you didn't have to tell me your name, Mr. Vash the Stampede." 

"So, my reputation precedes me…" Vash beamed. 

She risked at being too knowledgeable and continued, "Of course it does, you're the Humanoid Typhoon, the 60 Billion Double-Dollar man. Your origin is unknown and you seem to have no age… your also a plant."

"How did you know all that?" Vash questioned, his impressiveness turning into skepticism. 

Jewel let out a small sigh and looked away. "I know all this… because I am one." Vash blinked. 

"Well, I guess I should've known that after seeing your arm turn into a gun." 

Jewel nodded, "That's true." 

"Then… how come we've never met?" 

"Because I'm 10 years younger than you. I'm 120 years young." 

"And I'm 130."

The two began to laugh. 'He's so polite, and cute too. I just hope he turns out to be a better companion then my last two,' she thought to herself.

"Where are you headed?" Jewel asked in a simplistic manner. 

"December."   
"Do you mind if I travel with you?" she asked further. 

"Of course not. It'll be much happier around with you traveling with me." 

She beamed, "Why thank you."

The young pair set off towards December as the sun began to set.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"One room, two beds. That will be $$50," the man behind the desk of the hotel answered. Vash handed the man the money and they started to their room. "So Jewel, I don't want to be nosy or anything, but if your 10 years younger than me, than how…" He was cut short by Jewel. 

"I am the first plant to be born to this planet, I was born in Augusta. I was kept as an underground, illegal experiment." 

"But the technology…" 

"I was born out of pure coincidences and mistakes. When I was created, the scientists had been working on building human clones with the use of more than just human material. They never intended for me to be a plant."

"Oh," Vash said in understanding. He stared at her and their faces grew closer and closer… until Jewel pulled away. "What's wrong?" Vash asked. Jewel smiled, "It's nothing, nothing at all." 'I just want to feel no more pain… no more pain…' she thought to herself. The two were silent the rest of the night as they each fell asleep.

Jewel awoke in the middle of the night and took to her window. She stared towards the center of the town, "Something's going on. I better wake Vash up," she said to herself. She turned around to look at him. She smiled, 'He's so innocent-looking, I just want to walk right up to him and kiss him on the ch…' she thought to herself. She then turned away with a frown, 'Jewel, no more pain, remember? No more pain…'

She walked to Vash and shook him gently. "Vash, wake up."

"Huh?" he asked, opening his eyes.

"There's trouble, let's go check it out."

He looked at her sleepily before answering, "Right."

Jewel and Vash arrived at the problem area just in time. "Look, here's Vash the Stampede, now please, please let us live!" a man called out. 

Vash and Jewel looked towards the strange visitor that the man was talking to. He had blonde hair… and that was all Jewel needed to see before realizing who he was…

"Kn…Knives…" Jewel whispered. 'No, not Knives, anyone, but Knives… Even Legato would be better company. At least he bothered to be polite around me…' she thought to herself, fear flooding her face. 

"You know my brother?" Vash questioned. 'Unfortunately… yes,' she silently interjected.

"Know me? She knows me a lot better than you think, Vash," Knives answered in reply. Vash looked to Jewel, who was shaking her head, her expression of utmost horror.

"No… no… Not you. Not you, Knives. NO!" she yelled into the night. "Jewel, what's wrong?"

"Yes, Jewel. Tell my brother everything," Knives added. Jewel was now on her knees, clutching her head in her hands in pain.

"Knives, don't touch me! Stay away! Leave me be! Haven't you already ruined my life?!" Jewel screamed. "What the…?" Vash asked aloud. 

Knives took a step towards Jewel and she retreated. 'What's wrong with me? I've never been this afraid of him since he…,' she said in her mind, her thoughts interrupted by Knives.

"Come here, Jewel. I won't hurt you," Knives said with his malevolent grin, "I've already done that." Vash looked to Knives in suspicion, "What do you mean?"

Knives sighed in annoyance, "I mean that I've already hurt her." 

"What did you do to her?" Vash asked in a rage. Jewel looked up at him and mouthed the words, 'Please Vash, no…' Vash looked at her, confused, then nodded.

"Go ahead Jewel, chicken out. That's all you've ever done anyway. Don't you remember? When I asked you if…" Knives was silenced by Jewel's gun. She was crying as she held the gun to his head. Her tears were streaming down her face, but she made no effort to stop them. "Shut up or I'll shoot." Knives snickered.

"You can't pull that trigger and you know it. You could never hurt me Jewel… Because I'm your beloved Knives." The hand which was holding Jewel's gun was trembling now. Vash looked to Jewel in confusion, "Jewel, were you and Knives…" Jewel remained silent as she looked away from Vash. Knives faced Jewel with an eerie smile on his face. "Now Jewel, put the gun down and let's talk things through, shall we?" 

'I can't take this anymore…,' she whispered, more to herself then anyone. Then she exploded.

"Since when have you ever talked things through sensibly?" Jewel asked. She was crying much harder now, but the gun was still tight in her hand as though it were a part of her body. "All you've ever done, Knives, is hurt people. You shoot first and ask questions later. You've never once talked sensibly and…" She was interrupted be Knives' slap to her face. 

"Shut up, you little bitch! Since when have you become my conscience?! What I do is none of your business!" He pushed her to the ground before stepping on her stomach. She winced.

"You have no right to talk about shooting first and asking questions later! You know perfectly well what I mean too, so don't act stupid!" Knives said, kicking her. Jewel sat on her knees. She used the back of her hand to wipe the blood coming from her mouth. Vash looked to her to offer his assistance, but Jewel shook her head.

'He's right… I have no right to talk about killing…,' she thought as she looked to Knives in both rage and sadness.

"At least I've repented. All you ever do is kill… you never try to make things better," she said solemnly. She struggled to breathe, but as Knives had kicked her in the stomach, she fell to the floor, conscious, but exhausted.

"Out of energy already? Too bad, I was going to have a little fun with you," Knives said, pulling out his gun. "Since you're tired, you won't be able to fight back. How boring…" He held the gun to her neck. "Any last words?" She snickered, "Yeah, cut with the clichés."

She lifted herself from the ground, kicking Knives in the process. Jewel stood on her two legs for a moment, but then fell to the ground. Vash ran to her. "Let's get out of here," he said as he lifted her into his arms.

"I agree," she replied as she glanced back at Knives. 'No more pain…no more pain…' she thought to herself as she fell asleep in Vash's arms.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

'He smells so good,' she mused, rousing from her sleep. She opened her eyes and awoke to the sight of red…

"Vash… why didn't you sleep on your bed?" she questioned as she realized it was Vash's coat. "Because when I tried to put you down, you wouldn't let go of me." Jewel blushed… "S-Sorry about that." 

"Don't worry about it," he replied with a grin. He got up from the bed and headed to the door. "I'm gonna' go pick up some breakfast. Do you want anything?" Jewel looked to the ceiling in thought, "Uh, some donuts would be nice." 

Vash's grin grew wider. "Sounds good to me." He left the room leaving Jewel staring after him. "He's nothing like him, he's absolutely nothing like Knives," she thought aloud. She smiled. "I wish I would've met him sooner." She fell asleep again, peaceful thoughts entering her head…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jewel got up again about 10 minutes later. "That was the best sleep I've ever had, even if it only lasted 10 minutes," she said to herself as she got up from the bed. The she pondered, 'I wonder if I still no how to sing that song…' She headed to the window and began to sing…

__

So… Hitotsu-me no yoru ni

Izuko kara koishi ga sekai ni ochiru

__

So… Futatsu-me no yoru ni

koishi no ko ga te wo tori warutsu wo kaku

A pair of arms loomed around Jewel, pulling her back as a voice joined hers.

__

Sound Life

Jewel was startled by Vash's show of affection and she turned around and out of his embrace. They stared at each other for a moment before Jewel finally looked away.

'Jewel, you know he's not like the others… why can't you just trust him?' she questioned herself.

"Jewel." She looked at him, "Yes."

"Why do you look away every time I do something like that?" he questioned, sounding hurt.

Jewel tried to look away again, but Vash put his hand to her face. "Jewel, look at me when you answer… please," Vash said seriously, adding 'please' as an after-thought. Jewel let out a sigh. 'I'll tell him blindly. I'll just skim over the facts…'

"Vash, I've… the thing is, well, I've been hurt before… and I don't want to get hurt again. Don't get me wrong, Vash, you're a great person. I do trust you… and I do care about you, but my heart won't accept any more pain… because if it does, it's liable to break again, leaving even more scars. I couldn't handle that, Vash," she said, wanting so hard to look away. 

Vash was silent, stunned is more like it. He never knew that this strong person, Jewel, could have such scars. 

He moved his hand away. "Jewel… I… I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked you. Especially since…" Jewel cut him short, "Don't worry about it," she replied with a grin. Then she added, "Now, how about some breakfast?" as an after-thought. 

He smiled as he held up he bag of donuts. She reached for it and he pulled it higher.

"No fair!" she called. She jumped up and grabbed the bag. She ran to the other side of the room. "There mine now," she laughed. She turned around right as Vash tackled her. 

She was pinned between Vash and the floor. Jewel and Vash blinked at each other a few times before someone entered the room. 

'Well this is a rather embarrassing situation… what do you do at a time like this?, she pondered.

"Hey Vash, Millie and I…" The young woman stopped talking as she eyed Vash and Jewel on the floor. The two turned to look at her. "Oh, you're, uh, busy. Well then, I'll be back later." She closed the door as she left. Jewel looked up at Vash. "Uh, Vash. Do you mind getting off?" she asked. "And what if I say no?"

"Ha ha, very funny," she stated as she got up from under him, hitting him on the head in the process. He puppy pouted, "Hey, that hurt." He rubbed the enormous bump on his head.

"Let's eat breakfast, shall we?" she asked, changing the subject. "Donuts!" he yelled. 

"Hey Vash, who was that chic who came by just a moment ago?"

"Oh her? That was Meryl. She and her partner, Millie, are supposed to keep an eye on me. They work for Bernardelli Insurance."

"Oh, well that would certainly explain why they'd follow you." "Yup!"

The two talked a little while longer over breakfast, before heading into the town to look for any remaining signs of Knives. To their dismay, Knives had vanished, leaving no sign of himself, but his name in red upon a wall.

"This is not good. Knives probably left early this morning. Which means…" 

"That the only way of catching him is to first, find his trail, and second, to follow him. But since he left so early, the possibility of catching him is very, very slim," Jewel finished. Vash nodded, "Well, in that case. There's no point in leaving yet. Why don't we head back to the hotel and wait for Meryl. She's sure to stop by again," Vash said.

"Sounds good to me," Jewel replied. The two set off to the hotel.

"Jewel, there's something I've been meaning to ask you," Vash said as the two made it to their room. "What?"

"What was your relation to Knives?" he asked. Jewel halted for a moment at the door, silent. The two entered, but Jewel still remained mute. "Vash, I'd rather not…"

"What did he do to hurt you, Jewel?" Jewel sat on her bed, her head in her hands. "Vash, please don't make me tell you," she pleaded. Vash could see tears in her eyes and he stopped. He walked to her and hugged her, "I'm sorry, Jewel. I didn't mean to make you cry."

"I know, it's okay… I'll be fine…" He jumped as she hugged him back. 'I know I shouldn't get so close to him, but as long as I'm in his arms, I feel no more pain…'


	3. Another Gung Ho Gun

Part 3

Another Gung Ho Gun

Vash stared over to Jewel as she was asleep in her bed. He grinned. ~She's so peaceful when she's asleep, but when she's awake, she seems so troubled~ He walked over to her and hugged her. She frowned and rolled over saying, "Vash… What are you doing?"

Vash pulled back, looking a little confused. "Those are my donuts, yours are on the table," she said. He stifled a laugh. ~She's talking in her sleep, how cute…~ 

Vash stared at her a moment longer before deciding to get breakfast, but not before scribbling a note.

_Hey Jewel! I went to go get some donuts for breakfast! I'll drop them off, but after that I have to go see Meryl. If I don't, she's sure to throw a fit. _

Peace and Love,

Vash the Stampede

He then left the scene, leaving a sleeping Jewel, to her dreams. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Vash… Vash! Where are you?" Jewel called. She headed further up the mountain. She pushed the her hair out of her face as she trekked across the terrain. As she made her way across the desert, she recognized the red coat of Vash a mere 20 feet in front of her. She heard a whisper from somewhere.

Then all of the sudden it was as if she was watching herself in another dimension…

Vash was now a transparent image as she heard a voice say…

"Taking your life is just like taking someone else's. Besides, killing is unavoidable. If you swat a spider and squash it, you have killed a living being." 

'That's my voice…' Jewel thought as she heard the person speak. She glanced in the direction from which her voice was coming from. She took note of that fact that she was not transparent. 'But… my tone is never that cold… that… lifeless. A person with that tone would be…'

The "other" Jewel took the gun from Vash. "But I don't deserve to live… I killed him…" Vash said without turning around. "But didn't you do it to save someone else's life?" she asked. Vash paused before nodding solemnly. "Then if you had not killed him, two other people would be dead and, though indirectly, you would have been the cause of their death," the ersatz Jewel said with no change of tone. Vash's eyes opened widely in realization and he turned around… "Jewel?" he questioned.

The real Jewel was still standing behind Vash, but she was farther away from him than the other her. "Knives…" Jewel said aloud. The fake one heard her and turned around in disgust.

"To think that you've nearly figured it out…" the false Jewel answered icily. She grinned and then…

****

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jewel awoke to a sitting position. "That seemed so real… but… If Vash killed Legato a week back, then he shouldn't feel that guilty anymore…"

She sighed in slight relaxation, before widening her eyes in realization of the person standing in the doorway.

"How did you know I killed Legato?" Vash's voice asked from the doorway.

Jewel shook her head in uncertainty. "I… I don't know…"

Vash was staring at her. The silence between the two of them was deafening.

Jewel took it upon herself to bring up a conversation. "Uh… so where have you been?" she asked, still nervous about her "Vash killed Legato" dream

"Jewel, don't change the subject," he said as he walked to her, his eyes never leaving her face for a second.

"Vash, I don't know… and I'd rather not dwell on talking about actions I have done that are beyond my own comprehension ," she answered flatly.

"Well, if you don't want to talk about it, then you don't have to," he replied with a smile, as he pat her back.

'That was a major mood swing…' she thought to herself.

"Anyway, where were you?" Jewel asked, glad that Vash dropped the subject. 

"Well, that means you haven't read the note… I was out getting donuts and talking to Meryl."

"Oh… What time is it?" 

Vash thought for a moment, "Uh, I'd say that it's about.. Noon." 

Jewel looked thoughtful for a moment. "I haven't slept that long in a while…" she said, more to herself than anyone. 

"Well, I'm glad that you got your rest, because I'm heading out tomorrow and…" he paused to turn and smile at Jewel, "and I was wondering, if you would care to join me?"

Jewel returned his grin and nodded. "That would be absolutely wonderful, Vash." The two plants talked for a while longer before going into town to get some lunch.

As Jewel approached the bar with Vash, she heard two voices calling his name. Jewel turned around. 

"Mr. Vash! Oh, Mr. Vash!" the taller one called. She was a brunette with large, bubbly eyes. 

The shorter, dark-haired one called out too, "Vash! Turn around Vash!"

Jewel nudged Vash in the ribcage. As he turned around, Jewel commented. "Isn't that shorter one Meryl?"

The Bernardelli duo reached both Jewel and Vash a moment later. 

Meryl looked to Jewel, "I don't believe we've met. My name is Meryl." Meryl stuck out her hand for a handshake. 

Jewel shook her hand, "and I'm Jewel." 

The taller woman spoke up, "I'm Millie! It's nice to meet you Ms. Jewel!" 

Jewel smiled, 'Such nice people…' she thought to herself. "It's nice to meet you too, Millie."

Millie grinned from ear to ear. "Well, you certainly seem like a nice person, which is odd, considering that all Vash seems to attract is trouble," she said, her smile never leaving her face.

Jewel laughed. "Why don't you two have some lunch with us?" she offered. 

"Thanks," Meryl said as she nodded in gratitude.

As the four sat down at a table, a young woman confronted them. "Well, what do we have here? Jewel, since when have you been in town?" she asked. Jewel turned around. 

She was looking at a 17 year-old girl with waist-long chocolate-brown hair. Her hair was the exact same shade as her eyes, she stood at 5' 5'', and was wearing, what looked like, a waitress's uniform. 

"Shani! I haven't seen you in over a year!" Jewel said as she stood up to hug her. Meryl, Millie, and Vash blinked a few times. 

"Uh…" Vash said in confusion. 

Jewel turned around. "Everyone, this is Shani, my best friend. And Shani, this is Meryl, Millie, and…" 

"Vash the Stampede" Shani finished. 

Vash looked up at Shani and smiled. "Well, I would really appreciate it if you just called me Vash, calling me Vash the Stampede attracts too much attention." 

Shani nodded, "Okay!" Shani took a seat at the table. 

"Shouldn't you be working?" Jewel asked.

"Naw, it's my lunch break right now. Besides, we haven't seen each other in over a year, we got a lot of catching up to do." 

"What have you been up to?" Jewel asked.

"Nothing really. After you left town, everything got real quiet. But that shouldn't be a shock."

Jewel grimaced. "Well, I was the "Village Idiot" so to speak."

Vash burst into laughter, along with the Bernardelli duo. "I'm sorry Jewel, but I can't see you as the village idiot," Vash said, now laughing so hard that tears were coming down his cheeks. It was a good thing that these five and the bartender were the only ones present, the Humanoid Typhoon laughing at a table with four beautiful women, might have caused a scene.

"I could see Vash as the village idiot, but not you," Meryl added, laughing almost as hard as Vash. 

"Hey!" Vash protested. Jewel and Shani giggled. Vash, Meryl, and Millie all finished laughing as Jewel began to speak.

"When I lived here, I was always the one doing stupid stuff. For instance, a pair of bounty hunters were running after me. They were really fast and I was wearing a skirt, so I just tried to shake 'em off and ran into an alleyway. When I tried to jump the fence, my leg got caught between two boards and I was upside down, my skirt hanging over my head for the whole world to see." 

Vash stifled a laugh. "I would have liked to see that," he added. Jewel smacked him on the back of his head.   
"That's not funny," she said flatly. 

"I thought it was," Vash replied with a frown. 

Meryl, however, had a different idea in mind. "Why were Bounty Hunters after you?" she asked.

"Oh, I guess I didn't tell you that part. Does this pose look familiar?" Jewel stood up. 

She turned her back to everyone and pointed her gun to the heavens. She spread her legs apart and put her left hand on her hip. Then she turned her head around and winked.

"The Metal Flame…" Meryl said as she looked at Jewel in recognition. 

"Or, Wildfire Jewel," Shani added. 

"Who?" Millie asked through a half-full mouth of pudding. 

"The only person who ever had a higher bounty on their head than Vash," Meryl said. 

"Yup, I was once worth 70 Billion Double-Dollars," Jewel added, "but then I captured a lot of bounties and now I'm not worth a single Double-Dollar. Of course, that only lasted a few months… that's why I'm not as famous as Vash."

"You were accused of numerous murders… and the Blaze Massacres…" Meryl said. Meryl looked as though she was going to snap.. 

"Meryl, what's wrong?" Millie asked through confused eyes.

Meryl spoke again, "If I remember correctly… you were classified as a Gung Ho Gun…"


	4. Jewel the Inferno

Part 4

Jewel the Inferno

Everyone stared at Jewel in confusion.

"A…Gung… Ho… Gun?" Vash asked, his eyes wide. 

Jewel took her place at the table. "Actually, that is politically incorrect. When I was a Gung Ho Gun, my name was Jewel the Inferno. The Metal Flame was a nickname that came to be 3 months later. And as for Wildfire Jewel, that was when I was the bandit of Augusta."

"But you were still a Gung Ho Gun," Meryl commented. 

Jewel nodded. "I was… 'was' being your key word," Jewel added. 

The group sat in silence, each person unsure of what to say. Then the saloon door opened. 

"There you are Shani. Your mother is looking for you, dear," the old lady said from the doorway.

Shani sighed. "I'm coming." She turned to Jewel. "It was nice to see you again. Come tell me bye before you head out of town, okay?"

Jewel nodded and waved at the retreating brunette. Meryl looked to Jewel and nodded as her good-bye. Then she and Millie quickly exited the bar. Jewel let out a sigh and stood out of her chair. Vash followed her out the door and the two were left in deafening silence.

The next day started early…

"Jewel, hey Jewel. Wake up. It's time to go," the voice called beyond her dreams. Jewel managed a foreign-sounding, "Huh?" before finally getting out of bed.

Vash smiled to Jewel and she returned the gesture. 

"We're going to Arcadia. So you might want to hurry and get ready," he said.

Jewel let out a sigh if relief. 'He's obviously trying to act like yesterday's conversation never happened,' she thought to herself. "Alright," she said as she nodded her head. She left the bed and was beginning to put it back in order when Vash stopped her.

"I'll take care of it. You just go ahead and hop in the shower."

She nodded and then retrieved an outfit from her bag. She headed to the bathroom and turned on the faucet. She waited for a moment to let the water heat up, then she hopped into the shower. After spending 10 minutes on shampooing her hair (keep in mind that her hair is past ankle length), she quickly conditioned and bathed. She finished about 15 minutes later.

She dressed into her usual outfit. Then she put her hair up in a high ponytail. She washed her face, brushed her teeth, and then took a quick glance in the mirror. Jewel exited the bathroom and noticed a note pinned to her bag.

_I had to go. Please don't follow me._

-Vash the Stampede

"VASH!" Jewel screamed. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Somewhere in the desert, Vash sneezes three times.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jewel stormed down the hotel stairs and walked to the front desk. "Excuse me ma'm, but do you recall the young man I was traveling with?" she asked the clerk. The clerk nodded.

"He said he was real sorry that he left in such a hurry."

"Needle-noggin," she said under her breath. She kindly thanked the lady and exited the hotel. Jewel then ran into Meryl and Millie.

"Hello," she replied to the two of them. Meryl gave her a nervous look and smiled, nodding. But before Millie could say hi, she was ushered through the hotel door by Meryl. Jewel sighed. This is what happened when people knew who she was. They left her alone.

She began to walk in the direction of Arcadia, cursing under her breath at Vash's attempts to escape.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Maybe I shouldn't have left. I did invite her, but she'll jut get in the crossfire. I don't need that," Vash said to himself, "she's probably been looking for me for the past five weeks." At this moment, a young woman with long, blonde hair and green eyes took a seat next to him. 

"Hello there handsome. My name's Julia, do ya' mind me askin' what yours is?" she said as she tugged suggestively at the sleeve of her dress. Vash blinked, then quickly regained his composure.

"I'm Va… Van," he replied, thinking it best not to let her know his true identity. She gave him an evocative smile. 

"Nice name. Why don't ya' buy me drink?" she asked. He grinned, his womanizing ways were finally paying off.

"Much obliged, Julia." He bought her drink and they began their conversation. After about an hour of drinking and talking, Vash was starting to get real tired.

"I think I'm gonna' head back to my hotel room." Julia pouted and shook her head.

"Don't go. We're not done talking yet." Vash sighed. He didn't know it, but he was drunk, flat-out drunk. The problem was, that Julia noticed.

"Why don't I go with you?" she asked. Vash just gave he a confused expression before nodding and she traipsed after him.

Much to Julia's surprise, "Van" had been very clingy. It was probably just the liquor, but all the same, she was loving the attention. She smiled happily to herself. 'In just a moment, I'll get what I want and he'll get what he deserves,' she thought to herself as he began to open his hotel door. The second they entered, she attacked.

"Idiot! Jerk! Meanie!" she said as she pounded his skull. At this moment, Vash was sober enough to know what was going on…

"OW!" he screamed as he ran around the room to avoid her. Her blows eventually stopped, leaving a bruised Vash to examine the damage.

"What gives? We just met! What do you have against me?"

"Just met? Who do you think I am? Well who? Tell me, Mr. Vash the Stampede," she yelled. Vash looked at her and blinked in ignorance. Julia let out a frustrated sigh.

"Take the I and the A out of my name." Vash looked to the ceiling in thought.

"Jul?" he finally replied. Then he went into deeper thought. "Jewel… oh crap," he said.

Jewel nodded her head and pulled of the wig. "You idiot! You invite me and then leave me alone! What kind of etiquette is that? You could have at least uninvited me!"

"I'm sorry! But please don't yell, it's giving me a headache…"

"Fine. But you were still rude."

"Okay, I'm sorry, but leaving was a lot easier than uninviting you."

Jewel cocked her head with a confused look on her face. "Why?"

"Well, if your always that violent…"

Jewel let out a laugh. "I'm only violent when I'm mad. If you had been polite and had uninvited me I wouldn't have hurt you." She smiled at him.

~Women and their mood swings…~ Vash thought to himself. He watched Jewel get off the chair she had been sitting in. She turned to him as she neared the door.

"I'll be off then!"

"Stay, I kinda' owe ya' somethin' I guess. I was rude…" She sat next to him on the bed and smiled.

"You don't owe me anything. I got my revenge," she replied as she patted his back in a motherly manner.

"I insist."

"Well… if you answer my question."

"Spill it."

"Have you always been a sissy mama's boy?" she asked.

Vash puppy-pouted. "Meanie."

Jewel let out a laugh. "Just joking."

The two headed to the nearest bar. As they each took a bar stool they were approached by a waitress. She took the other seat next to Vash.

"Heya'. Name's Julia. What's yours handsome?" the girl asked. Jewel and Vash began to laugh hysterically. Julia looked at them confused.

"Inside joke," Jewel managed to reply between laughs. Julia then left the pair, obviously thinking that they were psycho. Jewel and Vash continued to laugh for about three more minutes. Afterwards, the two of them ordered their drinks. 

"I heard that they've decided to hold another quick-draw contest," a young man said at another table.

"Another one? The first just ended a little while back. Why would they want another one?" his friend said. The first man shrugged.

"Beats me."

Vash and Jewel turned to each other. 

"You don't think…" Vash began.

"Knives is definitely gonna' enter in some Gung Ho Guns. The opportunity is just too good to miss."

Jewel and Vash each looked back at the table where the two men had been sitting. 

"Let's go sign up," Jewel said. Vash nodded.

Somewhere in the desert, Knives laughs as the two plants fall into his trap.


	5. Yanako the BullsEye

A/N: Hey peeps! Thanks for the reviews. Questions concerning the relationship between Knives and Jewel are answered in this chapter. The next couple of chappies will be up slowly, because I have to work on my novel and my school stuff…

Disclaimer: *Gene pops up* Gene: My babe does not own Trigun, but she does own Jewel the Inferno, Shani, Yanako the Bulls-Eye, and Xenobia the Demoness. *Jewel glomps him* 

Jewel: Thank you my precious, beloved Gene

Gene: If I'm your precious, beloved, then why did you write a fic that features you and Vash?

Jewel: The fic with you and my other alter-ego shall be posted soon, love! Now onto the fic!

Part 5

Yanako the Bulls-eye

"Bring her to me," was the only command given to Yanako and he would do anything in his power to complete this task. 

Yanako was a natural-born Arcadian. He was admired by everyone, loved by everyone, and respected by everyone. When they saw him, ladies swooned, men tipped their hats, and children ran to him in greeting. 

So when he ended up as a Gung-Ho-Gun, he had surprised himself. He had only been working for Knives for about a month, but it was still enough time to let the weight of his sin crush his soul. But once his new mission was complete, Knives would allow him to leave on the condition that he would never come back.

Yanako instantly agreed and thus, took his mission. His mission to bring back the girl plant, the girl who could help Knives rid the planet of its human scum… the legendary, Jewel the Inferno.

Yanako wouldn't need to run after her. Apparently, Knives had a plan to lure her into Arcadia… and it worked.

Yanako glanced at the photo of Jewel that Knives had given him. "We'll meet… and I'll be the victor in our quick-draw. Then, you'll have no choice… you will belong to Knives soon enough… and I'll be free…"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Vash, will you stop doing that?" Jewel asked. Vash was trying to amuse himself by trying to annoy Jewel, and apparently, it was working. He had been poking her in the back and pulling lightly on her hair for the last ten minutes.

"Why?" he asked innocently.

"Because if you don't… uh… I'm gonna' eat all the donuts!" she said.

"No! Not my precious pastries!"

"Then stop." Vash stopped his actions.

"I'm sorry!" he said with a frown and glittery eyes.

"All is forgiven dear donut lover." Vash smiled.

"I'm your dear?" he asked hopefully. Jewel smacked him on the back of his head.

"You wish," she said with a flip of her hair. Vash snapped his fingers in disappointment.

"Darn."

Jewel looked out the window. The first part of the contest had already been completed, and the two outlaws were waiting for the results. A young man entered the room.

"Our winners for the preliminary rounds…

Jewel the Inferno with 100/100 targets…

Yanako the Bulls-eye with 99/100 targets…

Vash the Stampede with 90/100 targets…Linz with 84/100 targets…

Krevan with 79/100 targets…

Tra with 70/100 targets…

Rathan with 68/100

And Xenobia the Demoness with 65/100 targets…

All winners of the preliminary should report the office first thing tomorrow for further instructions and tomorrows line-up."

"Looks like he's got two Gun-Ho-Guns, Yanako the Bulls-Eye, and that wench, Xenobia the Demoness."

"You know her?" Vash questioned.

"Know her? Unfortunately, yes. She's a total slut. Mini skirt, tube top, fish net, high heels, the whole shebang… she's also really annoying."

"What about that other guy?"

"Yanako the Bulls-Eye? Must be a knew recruit, my guess is that Knives has got dirt on him and he's here under blackmail."

"You seem to know a lot about my brother…" Vash asked suspiciously.

"Don't remind me."

"Jewel…"

"Vash, let's not talk about it and go join that drinking contest," Jewel suggested. Vash looked thoughtful for a moment.

"I don't know, the contest is tomorrow. I don't wanna' get a hangover…"

"Suit yourself, I'll see ya' later."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

About four and a half hours later, Jewel arrived at the hotel, drunk as an empty glass. The second she got in the room, she threw her arms around Vash.

"Heya' Vashy! Howzit goin's?" she asked as tightened her grip around his neck.

"Uh, Jewel, how many shots did you have?" Vash asked, becoming aware of the tightness in his pants.

"Jusht 37, why do ya ashk?" she replied.

Vash gulped and pushed Jewel away.

"Hey!" she protested.

"Don't even think about it, your flat-out drunk," he replied.

"No I'm not, I'm shober," she said as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Say the alphabet backwards."

"Uh, Z… Y… um… V?" she questioned tentatively. 

"Well, that proves it. You're drunk." Vash then got an idea and decided to ask the question tugging at the back of his mind. "Jewel, what happened between you and my brother?" he asked.

Jewel looked away. "I don't know if I should shay anyshing…" she replied softly. Vash put a palm to her face.

"It would be better to get it out of your system."

Jewel sighed and leaned over, whispering the answer in his ear. Vash eyes grew wide and he pulled Jewel away from his face.

"You mean he… he…"

Jewel's eyes began to tear up. "He raped me…" she said, her voice barely audible.

Vash clutched her to his chest. She began to cry.

"Vash… am I going to have to say it again?" she asked as she hugged him back.

"Of course not, but later you'll feel better because you got all of that out of your system…" he told her. ~I can't believe it… I knew Knives was unstable, but unstable enough to… to rape Jewel?~ Vash thought to himself as Jewels cries grew softer.

Vash sat on the bed and placed Jewel on his lap. She soon fell asleep.

He laid her on the bed and began to walk to his bed.

"Don't leave me Vash," Jewel's timid voice came from the bed.

Vash turned around, laid himself next to her, and held her tightly. "Just until you fall asleep," he said as he breathed in her scent. Her arms circled his neck and pulled his face down to her chest.

His face turned the color of his coat. "Uh… Jewel…"

But she had already fallen asleep.

'I feel like a weight has been lifted from my soul,' Jewel though, unknowingly to herself.

"Oh my head, what time is it?" Jewel asked herself as she rubbed her forehead. Then she eyed Vash's head… using her breasts as a pillow…

~Oh crap, she's awake. Please, in the name of Love and Peace, don't let her kill me~ Vash thought to himself as he heard Jewel talk to herself.

"Vash, are you awake?" Jewel asked the blonde outlaw. He groaned convincingly.

"I'll take that as a no," Jewel sighed. She carefully moved apart from Vash and headed to her suitcase.

Turning her back to Vash, she got dressed in her usual black tank top, black shorts, red vest, and huge boots. Then she went to the dresser mirror to put her hair in a ponytail. She sat on the bed next to Vash and placed a palm to his cheek.

"So innocent, child-like even," she said aloud.

Vash shifted his lips to her palm and kissed it. She blushed a deep crimson.

"Good morning," Vash said, placing his hand over the one on his face.

"Uh, G… Good morning," Jewel said, trying to regain her composure.

Vash sat up. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

She out a hand to her head. "Groggy and…" she stopped, mid-sentence and ran to the bathroom.

After she was done spilling her guts, she entered the room again.

"I wasn't too drunk, was I?" she asked Vash, clutching her stomach.

"You want to know the truth?" he asked. She nodded.

"You were drunk enough to tell me what happened between you and Knives," he said. She went silent.

"I shouldn't have asked." Then she clutched her stomach again and ran to the bathroom.

"Are you gonna' come with me to check the line-up?" he asked as she wiped her mouth with a towel.

"Yeah, just give me a sec."

****

"The tiny print at the bottom of the paper says that we should check with a lawyer to complete our wills…"

"That's encouraging," Jewel said with a sardonic smile.

"Yeah, tell me about it," Vash agreed.

"Well, it's a good thing I don't have any large amounts of money or anything like that, it saves me the hassle," Jewel said, testing Vash's alertness.

"Yeah…"

"Vash, you idiot. Get your mind out of the gutter, you're not listening to a word I say!" she said as she smacked him on the back of his head.

He remained silent.

"Vash, the silence is deafening. What's wrong?" she asked.

"Jewel, it's just that. You and Knives…"

Jewel placed a finger over his mouth. "I'm over that… I think. After telling you about it, I'm relieved. It's nice to know that someone knows the whole story," she said with a smile. She moved her finger and struck the copyrighted Love and Peace pose. "Don't worry about me!"

"Are you sure?" Vash asked, 

"Positive."

The young man from the day before entered the room. "Round One will begin in three hours, but all contestants should be present," he said.

Another young man entered the room. He had black hair, emerald green eyes, and stood the same height as Jewel, just two inches shorter than Vash.

Jewel gasped slightly. Something about him seemed both familiar and appealing.

"Long time no see, Jewel the Inferno," he said with a smirk.

He approached her and pressed his lips firmly against hers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: Dun dun dun dun…

Prayne: Onee'chan! It's rude to leave people hanging like that!

Katana: I agree

Ryine: Baka! You forgot to mention me in your bio thingy…

Jewel: Ah, sorry for the cliffy, but y'all have to wait!

Tasuki: Come on Katana, let's forget about the fic and go light things on fire!

Katana: Yay!

Chichiri: Prayne, don't forget about our date!

Prayne: How could I forget, Ri-chan?!

Ryine: Gohan's late again.

Jewel: Aiyaa…


	6. Death to Those Who Choose It

Jewel: I'm finally back with the new chappie! Yay!

Background Person: And there was much rejoicing… (It's a line from Monty Python and the Holy Grail… don't ask)

Vash: That was weird…

Jewel: Anyway, read on! Oh yeah… and Rock Bands 4ever!

Geney-babe: Jewel, don't type my name like that! Anyway, here's the disclaimer…

*Bullets are heard as "Jewel Does Not Own Trigun," appears on the screen of her laptop.*

*More bullets are heard as "Jewel Does Not Own The Outlaw Star Copyrighted Commercial Intros," appears*

Jewel: On with the show…

Part 6

Death to Those Who Choose It

Vash stared at the two with confusion and a twinge of jealousy.

Jewel pulled away and promptly slapped Yanako across the cheek.

"What the hell are you doing?!" she yelled, outraged by Yanako's actions. 

"He was right, your lips are soft," he sneered as he put a hand to his cheek.

Jewel looked as though she would kill Yanako, and she nearly did.

"You bastard! How dare you do such a thing!" she yelled, ignoring the implication of Knives's comment. Yanako snickered.

"So you do avoid talk of Knives. He doesn't like to go unnoticed you know, well, at least not by you," he smirked. 

Vash took this as his cue to step into the conversation. "Okay then, we'll be off now. Don't want to be late for the…"

"Can it, Vash the Stampede," Yanako said. Jewel was reminded briefly of Legato when Yanako said "Vash the Stampede." Then it her like a dodge ball.

"You're Legato's brother."

"Half-brother," Yanako replied in haste.

"Surprising that your working for Knives, especially since you vowed to never work for anyone your brother, sorry, half-brother knew. So, what dirt does he have on you?" Jewel asked.

"It's none of your fucking business."

Vash was starting to fidget. Usually he would have done his all-time famous "Love and Peace" pose, but Jewel was seeming to handle the situation quite well, if you were trying to start a war. 

"Well, my guess is that this has something to do with your brother," Jewel snapped back in retaliation.

"I said it's none of your fucking BUSINESS!" Yanako screamed, enraged that she would dare speak of his half-brother in his presence.

"I'll choose what is and isn't my business!" she yelled.

Vash was getting nervous and decided to slip away unnoticed. He slid out the door and headed to the hotel.

About thirty minutes later, Jewel arrived.

"Uh, I'm afraid to ask about what happened," Vash said, cowering slightly.

"Nothing, we verbally sparred for another ten minutes and then I gave up and went to the nearest donut shop."

"Yeah, Love and Peace prevailed!"

"Not quite…"

"Wait, did you say donuts?"

"Yes, I just love the delicious delectable. Even if I don't have to eat in order to survive."

"A fellow Donut-lover!" Vash screamed. He threw his arms around Jewel in glee.

And who would've thought that at this moment, Meryl walked into the room.

"Vash! Will you ever stop…" she stopped mid-sentence.

"Uh, hi Meryl," Jewel said as she tried to wave, but Vash was holding her too tight.

"Uh, hope I'm not interrupting anything," she said. Then she gave a nervous laugh. Vash let go of her and walked over to Meryl.

"Hello Meryl! Where's Millie? Please don't hurt me for running off, Jewel, or should I say, Julia, over there already thwacked me in the head for that!" Vash said hurriedly.

"I should thwack you in the head, you idiot!" Meryl said as she twitched angrily.

"Wah!" Vash whined.

'It's gonna' be a long day,' Jewel thought to herself.

One hour later:

"So she does remember you, strange, the memory erasing I did to her didn't hold its ground," Xenobia replied.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. I'll just have to kill her," Yanako replied, annoyed with the young tramp.

"Those were not his orders. He said to bring both Jewel and Vash to him."

"Whatever."

"You know, you act like your four, even though your seventeen," Xenobia replied sardonically. 

He slapped her. "Shut up you little bitch! Don't tell me to act my age when you're a fifteen year-old passing as a twenty-one year-old whore!"

"Dammit! Don't slap me so hard!" she retaliated as she got up off of the ground.

"I'll slap you as hard as I damn well please!" He stormed off, leaving an angry Xenobia by her lonesome.

"All contestants please report to the…" the speaker began.

He was quickly drowned out by the sound of hundreds of people running to the contest area.

Jewel and Vash were the first to arrive. The rounds would begin soon…

One Hour Later: Results: 

****

Round One: Yanako the Bulls-Eye

Round Two: Vash the Stampede

Round Three: Xenobia the Demoness

Round Four: Jewel the Inferno

"Jewel, you're round with Yanako's in two hours," Vash said.

"Don't remind me. I already hate the guy."

"Do ya' have to kill him?" Vash asked her.

" I don't kill anymore. I haven't killed anyone since I was with L…" she clamped a hand over her mouth.

"Who?" Vash questioned.

"No one, no one," Jewel answered.

"Jewel, what are you hiding?" he asked.

"Oh look, a man with free donuts!" she screamed, pointing towards the other side of the street. Vash looked to where she was saying and she fled to the hotel.

"Hey, there's no free…" he began to say as he turned around. "Jewel!" he yelled.

"Whew, I think I made it. I hope he doesn't know where I am," Jewel said as she closed the hotel door behind her.

"There you are my beautiful Jewel…" a voice came from behind her. A chill went down her spine as she slowly turned around.

"Knives…" she whispered.

He approached her, but rather than retreating, she stayed.

"Ah, so you do have a backbone," he commented with a sneer.

"Why do you want me anyhow?" she asked.

"Well, isn't it obvious."

"Stop stalling."

"While I can replicate myself, I am only capable of making male replicates. With you I can create female copies as well."

"You expect me to duplicate myself for the likes of you?" she asked incredulously. 

"No, more than that. Why have copies of just yourself when you can have a plant with both our DNA."

Jewel's jaw dropped.

"Where are they?" Knives questioned, growing impatient.

"Who?" Jewel interrogated back, already knowing the answer.

"Don't be a smart-ass with me. Where are the twins?"

He kicked her in the knees, but she didn't budge.

"I'm not telling you." She pulled out her gun and held it to his chest. "While I'm unable to kill, I'm perfectly capable of injuring you… or even better, paralyzing you," she said as she turned him around and held the gun to the center of his spine.

"You wouldn't dare."

"Try me." She cocked the gun. They each stood there for a moment, testing the determination of one another.

"What are you waiting for? Shoot if you're going to, I don't have all day."

Jewel pulled the gun to her side.

"That's a good girl," Knives replied as he took the gun from Jewel, "Now why don't you come with me?"

She pulled up her left arm as it changed into a gun. She held it to his head.

"Well, isn't that the arm I gave you?" Knives said.

"Yeah, right after you lopped off my real one."

"Do you want to know why I did that?"

"It doesn't really matter…"

Knives grinned maniacally as he snapped his fingers. A figure stepped out from the darkness in the corner of the room. It was Xenobia.

"Xenobia here was given the power to…"

"Erase memories," Jewel finished.

"Yes, and it's all because of your arm dear Jewel. While you came to me willingly, I knew that you would leave once given the opportunity, so I gave her your powers in order for them to be used for my purposes."

Xenobia grinned. "Yes, thank you, Mistress Jewel."

Jewel was on the verge of blowing everyone to kingdom come, but as she began to pull the trigger, Vash entered the room.

"Jewel…" he began. And then he saw the scene before him.

"Knives," he said through gritted teeth. Knives arose from the floor to greet his brother.

"Hello dear brother, have the humans been treating you well?" he asked smiling. Jewel shivered. Whenever he smiled, she was briefly given the thought of a Cheshire cat gone Satanist. 

"Why yes they have," Vash replied.

"Xenobia, erase all of Jewel's memories subsequent to when she met Legato."

"Yes, Master," Xenobia replied as she bowed her head. Jewel's body was bound by an invisible force, making her unable to move..

"Hey, why can't I…"

And then, another figure appeared from the darkness. One, under any other circumstances, she would have been happy to see.

"Legato," she said inaudibly. 

"That's right, I'm back. And this time, I won't let you show me up."

"Legato…" Jewel said as tears swelled in her eyes.

Vash was confused. ~What happened between her and Legato? Wait, why am I thinking about that? It's nice to know that I'm not a killer, but how did he survive?~ Vash thought to himself.

"After being shot point-blank in the skull, I was barely alive. A young woman found me and nursed me to health. My powers were near depleted, but they still remained intact. I rested in order to regain my powers at full aptitude," Legato answered. "But as for your question about Jewel and I… if she's able to remember, then she can tell you… If you're still alive."

"There is only death to those who choose it, dear brother," a voice said from the doorway. Everyone directed their attention to the voice. It was Yanako the Bulls-Eye.

"Why Yanni, how nice of you to join us," Legato replied.

"Don't call me Yanni, dammit. It's Yanako the Bulls-Eye, soon to be Yanako."

Everything went silent for a moment and then the rest happened in a blur of red and other colors.

First, Jewel somehow managed to break free from Legato's mental hold. Then both Knives and Vash begin to let bullets fly. Jewel took this moment to get her gun from Knives and made a blind shot for Xenobia, hitting her in the shoulder with enough force to bring her down. Yanako and Legato began a war of their own. Three more shots sounded and then the room went still.

The dust from the floor began to settle. The aftermath lay before them.

Xenobia was hurdling in pain, clutching her shoulder in an attempt to cease it. Knives was lying on the floor, two bullet wounds could be seen in his left leg. Legato, on the other hand, survived intact, except for a bullet graze on his right cheek.

"Damn you, Vash," Knives said as he clasped his injured leg in his hands.

Vash was panting, but Jewel was focused on the person lying on the floor next to him… it was Yanako… and he was barely alive…

"Le…Legato, you… you bastard…" Yanako said, breathing heavily all the while.

Legato grinned. "Such language from a boy of your stature. It's too bad that your dear Ronara won't remember you… or the fact that she bears your child…" Legato said. A young, bound, and gagged woman entered the room, knocked out from Legato no doubt. Xenobia took to her feet and attempted to walk to the young woman, who could now be identified as Ronara. Xenobia spread her fingers on both sides of Ronara's head.

"No… not Ronara…" Yanako began.

"Hah, why erase the memories when I can do something better…" Legato stated as he advanced towards Ronara.

"NO!" Yanako screamed. "Don't hurt her! She did nothing wrong!"

"Who said I was going to hurt her?" Legato asked.

"I won't let you kill her!" Vash, Jewel, and Yanako said in unison. The volume of their remark was enough to bring Ronara to her senses.

"Yanako?" she said sleepily.

"Ronara honey, I'm here," he said, relieved that nothing had happened to her yet.

Jewel seized the moment to take a shot at Legato. She succeeded and her shot hit him in the hip. He screamed in pain. Vash helped Yanako off of the floor and Jewel went to Ronara.

"Who are you?" Ronara asked her.

"I'm a friend of Yanako's."

"I hope you're not like his other friends…"

"I'm not. Now let's get out of here."

The four of them left the hotel as fast as possible and headed to Meryl and Millie's small house on the outskirts of town.

"Meryl! Millie!" Vash called.

"What? Keep the noise down, would…" Meryl begin as she opened the door.

"We need your help," Vash replied.

"I can see that. Let's hurry and get them inside."

"Meryl, is Mr. Vash here?" Millie asked, but Meryl didn't need to answer. Millie helped Vash and Meryl with Yanako.

"What about her?" Meryl asked, nodding towards Ronara.

"I'm fine, but please help my fiancée," Ronara pleaded.

"Of course we will."

Jewel and Ronara followed Meryl into the bedroom where Yanako had already been lain on the bed.

"Jewel, go get some more bandages," Meryl instructed. Jewel nodded and ran to the bathroom.

'Yanako… just remember. There is only death to those who choose it,' she thought to herself. 'Just to those who choose it.'

Jewel: Aren't I mean? Another cliffy!

Katana/Prayne/Ryine: You baka!

Vash: LOVE & PEACE!!!!!!!!!!

Geney-babe: That was odd… Hey, I told you to stop typin' my name like that!

Jewel: Why can't I show my affection… *eyes tear up*

Vash: *runs to Jewel and hugs her* It's okay, you've always got me!

Geney-babe: Watch it buddy…

Vash: You're the one telling' her you don't want to be called her pet name for you!

*guys start fighting*

Jewel: Oh well, anyway… 

****

SOON TO BE POSTED BY THE LOVELY JEWEL LILKA XENOBIA STARWIND:

"New Found Love," an Outlaw Star Fanfic

"Muimi Yuuggi: Pointless Play," a Fushigi Yuugi fanfic that focuses on them as Sailor Scouts… 

****

AND BY THE ANIME SISTERS JOINT EFFORTS:

"Meet the Anime Sisters"

"The Anime Sisters and the Outlaw Encounter"

"An Anime Sister's Christmas"

"Snow Falling on Cedar Trees," a Tenchi Muyo and Inuyasha crossover…

Jewel: Well, I'm going to try and put a fanfic up for each Anime that I've seen. Wish me luck! Oh, and the next chapter won't be for a while because I have school, a novel, debate tournaments, Anime sleepovers, Anime Sisters, an Anime Sisters, redesigning of my room, "Human Zoo, (my rock band, I'm lead singer)," and a boyfriend occupying 127% of my time… if that makes any sense…Cya soon!


	7. Truths

JLXS: Guess what… I'm back! I'm terribly sorry for the lack of updating! I really am! Sumimasen! Good, now that that's out of the way, you'll be happy to know that now that it's summer, I'll be updating more often! I was going to update before A-Kon, but forgot! ::sweatdrop:: Now then, on with the story!

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"Hello Ms. Jewel," Ronara greeted as Jewel entered Yanako's room.

"How's he doing?"

"Better… Do you mind watching him for me? I have to go take care of something."

"Sure."

Yanako's eyes fluttered open as Ronara closed the door. "Wha…"

"You've taken quite a beating, ya' know. Ronara's been worried."

"She's not worried about me. She's worried she won't get any money…" Yanako replied as he sat up.

"What do you mean?"

"The child Ronara is with is not my own. The father won't give her any compensation. I fell in love with her a couple of years before that, so she came to me…"

Jewel looked to the side.

"…I'm pitiful."

"No you're not. You just took compassion on a woman in need."

"I'm just her meal ticket. She doesn't know anything about me; she doesn't want to bother to get to know me either."

"Look, she just needs time. Us women take a long time to adjust when it comes to relationships. And besides that, she's probably scared about me pregnant in the first place."

"…I guess you're right."

Jewel cocked her head to one side and smiled. "You get some rest. Vash and the girls should be back soon with some food."

"Okay."

Jewel sighed as she closed the door. "Poor Yanni… That woman had no right to do that… but all the same, it's best for the both of them."

At this moment, a blonde and red blur tackled her to the ground.

"I've stolen you're heart!" he yelped.

She looked at him skeptically. "You've stolen nothing I hope."

He whimpered. Jewel, in response, rolled her eyes. "You're so childish," she commented.

"Jewel, I have a question to ask you."

"What?"

As Vash opened his mouth, a gunshot was heard. The two plants looked towards the sound. "Knives," they replied in unison. The two ran into the living room to find Ronara on the floor, her blood pooling around her.

"Get her some bandages!" Vash commanded Meryl. Meryl nodded and began to lift Ronara from the floor.

"Stop," said Jewel solemnly.

"But…" Vash began to protest.

"She's already dead. The gunshot was to her temple."

Knives's maniacal laugh came from the corner of the room. "Of course she's dead."

"You killed her!" Vash yelled, his gun already pointed at Knives.

"He didn't… she shot herself," Jewel explained. "The shot was to her temple. If Knives had killed her, he would have shot her between the eyes so she would've known he was her killer... and so he could watch her panic-stricken face."

"So you still remember how I like to see them squirm," Knives grinned.

"It's a mental image; don't bother wasting your bullets," Jewel explained to Vash as he was about to shoot.

Knives smirked. His vile laughter filling the room as his image faded away.

"Take her to the undertaker," Jewel told Millie. Millie nodded and lifted Ronara from the floor. "I'll be the one to tell Yanako. In the mean time, Vash, you best search for any remaining signs of Knives."

Vash nodded, tears stinging the corners of his eyes.

"I'll clean up," Meryl said before Jewel could give her orders. Jewel nodded and headed to Yanako's room.

"I heard the entire thing…"

"Yanako…"

"I'll be fine."

Jewel began to leave. "Ya' know, Yanako, it's okay to cry."

"I'm fine."

Jewel sighed as the door closed.

"How is he?" Vash asked as approached her.

"Physically, he's in pretty good condition, but emotionally…"

Vash nodded solemnly. "Millie just got back and Meryl just finished cleaning. As for Knives…"

"No sign," Jewel finished. The two headed to the kitchen in search of something to clear their senses.

As Vash began to grab the bottle of liquor he had carefully hidden in the back of the pantry, Meryl stopped him.

"No booze for anyone tonight. Last thing we need is for that… that devil to show up and have no one sober and healthy enough but me to fight him off," Meryl chastised.

Both Jewel and Vash nodded in guilty agreement.

"I'll start making dinner, in the mean time, you two should go see about Ronara's funeral."

"Yes ma'm," the plants said in unison.

The walk to the undertaker was a silent one, up until the last five minutes.

"Vash, you really need to tell Meryl."

"Tell her what?"

"Don't try that with me. I **_am_** psychic you know."

"She'll get in the crossfire."

"She'll get in the crossfire either way. At least if you tell her, she'll know you cared."

"…"

Jewel turned to look at him. Tears were streaming down his face.

"But…"

"No buts, Vash. She deserves to know."

"…everything?" he asked.

Jewel nodded.

It was around 8:00 when the arrangements were finally done and dinner was ready. After dinner, everyone was to emotionally and physically drained to do much of anything, so they all retreated to their sleeping area, Vash to the couch, Meryl and Millie to their room, and Jewel to hers.

"Jewel," Yanako called as she passed his doorway.

"Yes?" she answered as she entered.

"Who are the twins?"

"…"

"Jewel…"

"I didn't know you were there the entire time that conversation between Knives and I took place."

"Don't change the subject."

"Yanako, I don't think I should…"

"Tell me."

She sighed as she sat on his bed, her face to the floor. "They're my daughter and son… Saiyake and Dagger…"

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JLXS: Sorry it's so short, but I'll make the next chapter extra-long to make up for it! Well, at least this isn't a cliffhanger… it's more like a pseudo-cliffhanger. NEwayz, expect the next chapter in two weeks tops. Bai bai!


End file.
